


Requirements Not Met

by Velace



Series: Incomplete. [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, How dare I
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-25
Updated: 2018-01-25
Packaged: 2019-03-09 08:15:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13477404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Velace/pseuds/Velace
Summary: Regina tried to teach Emma magic but after months of getting nowhere and fights that only seemed to escalate with every attempt, they mutually decided Emma was unteachable. They weren’t entirely wrong.





	Requirements Not Met

**Author's Note:**

> This is not a story. This is not complete. It is a reminder for me once the overwhelming desire to throw my computer through the nearest window passes. Read at your own peril.

It started in Neverland. With their son in mortal danger, Regina thought it was the perfect time for Emma to learn how to control her powers. Emma had eventually agreed but that was, unfortunately, where their cooperation ended. Minutes turned to hours, hours turned to days and the woman couldn’t conjure a simple spark let alone an entire fire to keep them warm and fed at night.

Trying to find what emotion worked for Emma was a lot like banging one’s head against a wall. No matter what Regina tried, nothing seemed to work, and she’d tried  _ a lot _ . She even resorted to spontaneously threatening Snow White’s life in the hope Emma would panic and the magic would kick in on instinct.

It didn’t.

Emma refused to speak to her for a good six hours after she’d spent at least half of them consoling her mother who wouldn’t stop blubbering about almost falling to her death. Thankfully Emma was the only one who realized Regina had purposely pushed her, but as Emma was the only semi-tolerable person on the island to keep her company, those six hours were the worst six hours of her life.

She hadn’t completely lost hope at that point, but it  _ was _ hanging on by a thread. 

A very thin, horribly frayed thread.

They kept trying, and failing. Emma almost died to Pan’s shadow because she couldn’t even light a  _ candle _ . Luckily she’d remembered she had a lighter in her pocket, otherwise the return to Storybrooke would have been a lot more sombre than it was.

Less frustrating too, if Regina were to really think about it. She’d persisted trying to teach the blonde idiot on the journey home. It was around that time she began to wonder if she might be just a teeny, tiny bit masochistic.

They met frequently after Neverland; trying, taunting, screaming obscenities at one another. Regina considered the possibility that lust might be Emma’s motivation, what with all the looks Emma constantly sent her away, especially when they were in the midst of one of their arguments. She decided to take one for the team and tried to seduce Emma with little touches, meaningful gazes and an occasional murmur here or there, purred too close.

All that did was make Emma turn red, and avoid her for an entire week.

Unfortunately, Regina was far too stubborn to admit defeat, and they continued once Emma had recovered.

In a small town like Storybrooke, there wasn’t much else for any of them to be doing when they weren’t under attack. When they were under attack- when the day was eventually saved and Regina was reminded of how much  _ easier _ it would all be if Emma could figure out how to summon her magic, she was even more determined.

It wasn’t until Emma genuinely almost died- when she’d thrown herself at Cruella and went careening off the cliff with her in the name of protecting their son- that they stopped.

Easy wasn’t worth that.


End file.
